Willem-Alexander was born inUtrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother,Queen Juliana, as the eldest child ofPrincess Beatrix (later Queen) andPrince Claus. He becamePrince of Orange asheir apparent upon his mother's accession on 30 April 1980. He went to public primary and secondary schools in the Netherlands, and an international sixth-form college inWales. He served in theRoyal Netherlands Navy, and studied history atLeiden University. He marriedMáxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in 2002, and they have three daughters:Catharina-Amalia,Alexia, andAriane. Willem-Alexander succeeded his mother as monarch upon her abdication on 30 April 2013. He is the first man to hold this position since the death of his great-great-grandfatherWilliam III in 1890, as the intervening three monarchs—his great-grandmotherWilhelmina, his grandmother Juliana and his mother Beatrix—had all been women.
Willem-Alexander attended local state primary school Nieuwe Baarnse Elementary School inBaarn from 1973 to 1979. He went to two different state secondary schools (the Baarns Lyceum in Baarn from 1979 to 1981 and the Eerste Vrijzinnig Christelijk Lyceum inThe Hague from 1981 to 1983) and the private sixth-form collegeUnited World College of the Atlantic inWales (1983 to 1985), where he received hisInternational Baccalaureate.[5][9]
After his military service from 1985 to 1987, Willem-Alexander studied history atLeiden University from 1987 onwards and received hisMaster of Arts degree (doctorandus) in 1993.[10][11] His final thesis was on the Dutch response to France'sdecision under PresidentCharles de Gaulle to leaveNATO's integrated command structure.[5]
Willem-Alexander speaks English, Spanish, French, and German (his father's native language) in addition to his native Dutch.[12]
Before his investiture as king in 2013, Willem-Alexander was honourably discharged from the armed forces. The government declared that thehead of state cannot be a serving member of the armed forces, since the government itself holds supreme command over the armed forces. As king, Willem-Alexander may choose to wear a military uniform withroyal insignia, but not with his former rank insignia.[14]
Willem-Alexander is interested inwater management and sports issues. He was an honorary member of the World Commission on Water for the 21st century and patron of the Global Water Partnership, a body established by theWorld Bank, the UN, and the Swedish Ministry of Development. He was appointed as the Chairperson of the United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation on 12 December 2006.[16]
He was a member of the supervisory board ofDe Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch central bank), a member of the Advisory Council of ECP (the information society forum for government, business and civil society), patron of Veterans' Day and held several other patronages and posts.[19]
On 28 January 2013, Beatrix announced her intention to abdicate. On the morning of 30 April 2013 (Koninginnedag), Beatrix signed the instrument of abdication at theMoseszaal (Moses Hall) at theRoyal Palace of Amsterdam. Later that afternoon, Willem-Alexander wasinaugurated as king before a joint session of theStates General in a ceremony held at theNieuwe Kerk.
As king, Willem-Alexander has weekly meetings with the prime minister and speaks regularly with ministers and state secretaries. He also signs all new Acts of Parliament and royal decrees. He represents the kingdom at home and abroad. At theState Opening of Parliament, he delivers theSpeech from the Throne, which announces the plans of the government for the parliamentary year. The Constitution requires that the king appoint, dismiss and swear in all government ministers and state secretaries. As king, he is also the President of theCouncil of State, an advisory body that reviews proposed legislation. In modern practice, the monarch seldom chairs council meetings.[20]
At his accession at age 46, he was Europe's youngest monarch; one of the current youngest monarch in Europe, alongsideFrederik X of Denmark,Felipe VI of Spain andGuillaume V of Luxembourg. He is also the first male monarch of the Netherlands since the death of his great-great-grandfatherWilliam III in 1890. Willem-Alexander was one of four new sovereign monarchs in 2013 along withPope Francis, EmirTamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, and KingPhilippe of Belgium.
Willem-Alexander is an avid pilot and has said that, had he not been a royal, he would have chosen a career as an airline pilot, ideally flying large aircraft such as theBoeing 747.[21] During his mother's reign, he regularly flew the Dutch royal aircraft on trips.[22]
Willem-Alexander revealed in May 2017 that he had quietly been working as afirst officer withKLM since the 1990s, flyingFokker 70s forKLM Cityhopper twice a month, even after becoming king. He said he is rarely recognized while in uniform, although some passengers recognized his voice when he made announcements, despite never introducing himself by name.[21][23] Following the retirement of the Fokker 70, he transitioned to theBoeing 737, and in 2025 transitioned to theAirbus A321neo.[21][24]
In an attempt to strike a balance between privacy for the royal family and availability to the press, theNetherlands Government Information Service (RVD) instituted a media code on 21 June 2005 which essentially states that:[30]
Photographs of the members of the royal house while performing their duties are always permitted.
For other occasions (like holidays or vacations), the RVD will arrange a photo-op on condition that the press leave the family alone for the rest of the activity.
During a ski vacation inArgentina, several photographs were taken of the prince and his family during the private part of their holiday, including one byAssociated Press staff photographer Natacha Pisarenko, in spite of the media code, and after a photo opportunity had been provided earlier.[31] The Associated Press decided to publish some of the photos, which were subsequently republished by several Dutch media. Willem-Alexander and the RVD jointly filedsuit against the Associated Press on 5 August 2009, and the trial started on 14 August 2009 at thedistrict court in Amsterdam. On 28 August 2009, the district court ruled in favour of the prince and RVD, citing that the couple has a right to privacy, that the pictures in question add nothing to any public debate, and that they are not of any particular value to society since they are not photographs of his family "at work". Associated Press was sentenced to stop further publication of the photographs, on pain of a€1,000 fine per violation with a€50,000 maximum.[32]
In October 2020, Willem-Alexander apologised for a family holiday trip to Greece which had taken place while his country was under partial lockdown during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[33] He and his family cut their trip short, and in a two-minute video he stated that it "hurts to have betrayed" people's trust.[33] Earlier in August 2020, he and his wife were photographed with a restaurant owner during another trip to Greece, which was a violation of social distancing rules at the time.[33]
From 2003 until 2019, Willem-Alexander and his family lived in Villa Eikenhorst on the De Horsten Estate inWassenaar.[34] After his mother abdicated and became Princess Beatrix once again, she moved to the castle ofDrakensteyn, after which the King and his family moved to the newly renovated monarch's palace ofHuis ten Bosch in The Hague in 2019.[35]
Willem-Alexander has a villa nearKranidi, Greece.[36]
On 10 July 2008, the Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima announced that they had invested in a development project on theMozambican peninsula ofMachangulo.[37] The development project was aimed at building an ecologically responsible vacation resort, including a hotel and several luxury holiday homes for investors. The project was to invest heavily in the local economy of the peninsula (building schools and a local clinic) with an eye both towards responsible sustainability and maintaining a local staff.[38] After contacting Mozambican PresidentArmando Guebuza to verify that the Mozambican government had no objections, the couple decided to invest in two villas.[39] In 2009, controversy erupted in parliament and the press about the project and the prince's involvement.[39] PoliticianAlexander Pechtold questioned the morality of building such a resort in a poor country like Mozambique. After public and parliamentary controversy, the royal couple announced that they had decided to sell the property in Machangulo once their house was completed.[40] In January 2012, it was confirmed that the villa had been sold.[41]
Coat of arms of Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
Notes
As Monarch, Willem-Alexander uses theGreater Coat of Arms of the Realm (Grote Rijkswapen). The components of the coats of arms were updated and further regulated byQueen Wilhelmina in a royal decree of 10 July 1907 and were affirmed byQueen Juliana in a royal decree of 23 April 1980.
Crest
Issuing from a coronet Or, a pair of wings joined Sable each with an arched bend Argent charged with three leaves of the lime-tree stems upward Vert.
Azure, billettyOr alion with acoronet Or armed and languedGules holding in his dexter paw aswordArgent hilted Or and in the sinister paw sevenarrows Argent pointed and bound together Or.
French: I will maintain (in Dutch:Ik zal handhaven)
Other elements
The monarch places this coat of arms on apurple mantle, with golden borders and tassels, lined withErmine. Above the mantle is a purple pavilion again topped with the royal crown.[83] (Note: Although the official blazon states the mantle as purple it often looks like (dark) red. French and German purple contains more red and less blue than American or British purple.)
Banner
Upon his succession to the throne, Willem-Alexander adopted the (partly modified)Royal Standard of the Netherlands, which is a square orange flag, divided in four-quarters by a nassau-blue cross. All quarters show a white and blue bugle-horn, taken from the coat of arms of thePrincipality of Orange. In the centre of the flag is the (small) coat of arms of the Kingdom, which originates from the arms of theHouse of Nassau, surmounted by a royal crown and surrounded by the insignia of the Grand Cross of theMilitary William Order.
Symbolism
The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of theUnion of Utrecht.
Previous versions
Quarterly, 1 and 3, Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or (royal arms of the Netherlands, i.e. that of his mother, Queen Beatrix), 2 and 4, Or, and a bugle-horn Azure, langued Gules (arms of the formerPrincipality of Orange), on an inescutcheon Vert, a castle proper, on a mount of the last (arms of theHouse of Amsberg, i.e. that of his late father,Prince Claus).
Through his mother, Willem-Alexander also descends fromPaul I of Russia and thus from German princessCatherine the Great and Swedish KingGustav I. Through his father, he is also descended from several Dutch–Flemish families who left theLow Countries during Spanish rule, such as theBerenbergs. His paternal great-great-grandfather Gabriel von Amsberg, a major-general of Mecklenburg, was recognized as noble as late as 1891, the family having adopted the "von" in 1795.[84][85]
Finally, Willem-Alexander is also a distant descendent ofWilliam the Silent, who is held to be theFather of the Nation in the Netherlands, sinceJohn William Friso, a great-great-grandson of William the Silent, is known to be a common ancestor to all current European monarchs.
^Per tradition, all children of a Dutch monarch are awarded the highest Dutch civil honour, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, on their eighteenth birthday,[47] including Willem-Alexander on 27 april 1985. He held this grade until he ascended the throne on 30 April 2013, at which point he became the Grand Master of the order.
^As a son ofQueen Beatrix of the Netherlands at the time, Willem-Alexander was automatically appointed a Knight in the Order of the Golden Lion of Nassau at birth. He held this grade until he ascended the throne on 30 April 2013, at which point he became joint Grand Master of the order (withHenri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg being the other).
^Willem-Alexander received the Officer's Cross on 6 December 2001, marked with "XV" insignia for 15 years of service.[48] It was upgraded with the "XX" insignia in 2006 for 20 years and with the "XXV" insignia in 2011 for 25 years of service.[49] In 2013, he was honorably discharged upon becoming king, as monarchs cannot serve as soldiers, and he no longer receives new year insignia.[50][51]
^Hoff, Ruud."Leiden, 2 juli 1993" [Leiden, 2 July 1993].ANP Historisch Archief Community. Archived fromthe original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved2017-06-15.
^"Queen Máxima".Holland.com. 2012-06-06.Archived from the original on 2023-08-25. Retrieved2023-08-25.Máxima Zorreguieta was born in Argentina on 17 May 1971.
^"Queen Máxima — Youth".Het Koninklijk Huis. 2015-01-15.Archived from the original on 2023-08-25. Retrieved2023-08-25.Queen Máxima was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 May 1971 as Máxima Zorreguieta.
^"Boletim Oficial" [Official Bulletin].Imprensa Nacional de Cabo Verde (in Portuguese). Vol. 1, no. 80. 2018-12-07.Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved2019-11-11.
^"Ordensdetaljer" [Order details].borger.dk (in Danish). Archived fromthe original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved2019-11-11.
^"Kuningas Willem-Alexander" [King Willem-Alexander].Office of the President of the Republic (in Estonian).Archived from the original on 2022-04-27. Retrieved2022-04-27.
^"Real Decreto 349/2024" [Royal Decree 349/2024].Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish).Archived(PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved2024-04-02.
^"Real Decreto 1141" [Royal Decree 1141](PDF).Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish).Archived(PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved2017-06-15.
1title granted by Royal Decree to consort of the Queen, without the title "Prince of Orange-Nassau"
2gave up the title "Prince of the Netherlands, but still held the title "Prince of Orange-Nassau"3title granted by Royal Decree to descendants of Princess Irene
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